The two women regarded each other in silence. In Sajipona’s glance there was proud defiance; with Una anxiety had changed to determination. The wordless duel of emotions was interrupted by Narva, who, until now, had remained in the background. Upon David’s withdrawal the old sibyl shook off her reserve and addressed herself reverently to Sajipona.
“His old enemy is here,” she announced; “there is danger.”
Narva’s news did not bring the alarm that any one would have supposed it would bring. Instead, Sajipona’s look of anxiety vanished. A flash of anger gleamed in her eyes. Then she smiled with an eager air of triumph, grasping the old Indian’s arm as if urging her to say more.
“You mean the American, Raoul Arthur?” she asked. “Is he here? I want him. I have waited for him. But, I didn’t see him. Are you sure that he is here?”
Narva shrugged her shoulders. “He comes for no good,” she said. “At last he finds the way from Guatavita. He seeks treasure. With him are traitors to the Land of the Condor. He fought Anitoo. He conquered him. He is on his way to the palace. I heard him with his men on the iron path. They are many. Defend yourself, Sajipona! We have very little time.”
The appeal was received exultantly. From Una, however, there came a cry of dismay.
“If there is danger,” she exclaimed, “what will become of my uncle and the others?”
Narva chuckled to herself. “There is no danger to them,” she said. “The fat man will have trouble to run, and the old woman will die because she is always afraid.”
Her grim humor fell on unappreciative ears. At Sajipona’s rebuke she lapsed again into silence, first giving a grudging explanation of what she had done with the party of explorers. The latter, it appeared, were practically prisoners where Narva and Una left them. There they must remain, unless they were discovered by the hostile band that was believed to have invaded the cave, in which case their release would mean capture by Raoul and his men. The possible consequences of this increased Una’s alarm, and at Sajipona’s command Narva grumblingly set forth to effect their rescue. As success depended on her speed, Una was prevented from returning with her. She was thus left alone with Sajipona, whose plans regarding David now absorbed her attention. Here, however, she encountered a reserve which she could not break. Every attempt to gain information was repelled, and in a manner intimating that Una’s interest in David was unwarranted by any previous friendship between them.
“He does not know you,” exclaimed Sajipona exultantly, but with a note of uneasiness that was not lost on the other.